Calcutta, March 31: Cross, a 170-year old US-based fine writing instrument and stationery maker, will launch leather accessories in India in April.

City-based Torero Corporation, which has an exclusive global licence for Cross Leather Accessories, has a manufacturing base in Calcutta. Torero converts finished leather imported from Spain into accessories for Cross at the facility.

"This is the first time the Cross leather accessories will be made available in India. Overseas, these products are available in department stores such as Harrods and Selfridges," director and CEO of Torero Yashovardhan Gupta said. Cross expects this business to touch the Rs 90-crore ($15 million) sales mark by the end of 2015-16.

The company plans to invest $6 million or Rs 36 crore in plant and machinery this year. Sales will be pushed through all department and chain stores in tier I and tier II cities as well as online through Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Myntra and Jabong.

Growth strategies are also being made for other target countries such as the US, the UK and Japan. The size of the branded leather accessories market in India is estimated to be around $500-600 million.

Cross has plans to open exclusive stores in India for leather accessories in the next two quarters. The advertising promotion spend for 2015-16 has been pegged at Rs 12 crore.